Five Men Charged with Armed Robbery of Shop ‘N’ Save in Cahokia

Five Men Charged with Armed Robbery of Shop ‘N’ Save in Cahokia

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Byron “Josh” Holton, 26, from Cahokia, LaMarcus D. Jackson, 28, from Centreville, Undray C. Webb, 25, from Cahokia, Devante J. Hodges, 22, from Cahokia and Durand L. Harper, 25, from Cahokia, have all been charged on a two-count Complaint with Interference with Commerce by Robbery, which is a violation of the Hobbs Act, and Carry and Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence in connection with the armed robbery of the Shop ‘n Save that occurred in Cahokia, Illinois on January 11, 2015.

The complaints filed in the U.S. District Court allege that on January 11, 2015 at approximately 9:40 p.m. four masked and gloved individuals entered the Shop ‘n Save grocery store located at 1028 Camp Jackson Road in Cahokia, Illinois. The four individuals were armed with a black handgun, a chrome semi-automatic handgun, a long barreled revolver, and a long rifle with a high capacity magazine. The four masked men pointed the firearms at employees and customers within Shop ‘n Save and threatened to kill them if they were not given money from the store safe. An employee was forced to fill a black book bag with money from the safe and the four men then fled on foot. Over $7,000 was taken during the robbery. The investigation led to the identification of Durand Harper as the “look out” and “getaway driver” before and after the robbery, and to Josh Holton, LaMarcus Jackson, Undray Webb, and Devante Hodges as the four masked gunman.

“I would like to stress the tremendous cooperation and coordination between the various federal and local departments resulting in the bringing of charges in this case. Great sharing of information and old-fashioned police work by the FBI, Sauget, and Cahokia resulted in armed individuals being swiftly brought to account.” said United States Attorney Wigginton.

If convicted of a violation of the Hobbs Act, each defendant faces a term in prison of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. If convicted of the offense of Carry and Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, all five defendants face a minimum term in prison of seven years up to a maximum term of Life, consecutive to, meaning in addition to, any term of imprisonment imposed on the Hobbs Act violation, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release of up to five years.

A criminal complaint is a formal charge against a defendant that is comprised of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

The case is being investigated by the Cahokia Police Department, the Sauget Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of the Metro East Armed Robbery Initiative. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Ali Summers for prosecution.